Clinching at least a tie for the A. L. West title, the Royals beat the Mariners, 7-2, as Dennis Leonard became a 20-game winner for the second straight year. A two-run triple by John Wathan gave K. C. a first-inning lead and the Royals put the game away with four tallies in the fourth frame as Freddie Patek, Willie Wilson and Hal McRae collected RBI hits with McRae scoring the final run of the inning on a stolen base and consecutive errors by catcher Bob Stinson and center fielder Ruppert Jones. [The Sporting News]

Kansas City Royals 7, Seattle Mariners 2

Game Played on Monday, September 25, 1978 (Night game) at Royals Stadium

Mariners 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 2 6 2 Royals 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 x - 7 9 0 Mariners AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Royals AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Cruz 2b 3 1 1 0 1 1 .242 Brett 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .291 Reynolds ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .286 McRae dh 4 1 1 1 0 0 .273 Ruppert Jones cf 4 1 3 1 0 0 .243 Otis cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .297 Roberts rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .300 Cowens rf 4 2 2 0 0 0 .275 Bochte dh 3 0 0 1 0 0 .261 Wathan 1b 3 0 1 2 0 0 .306 Paciorek 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .304 Porter c 3 0 0 0 1 1 .266 Stinson c 3 0 1 0 1 0 .259 White 2b 3 1 1 1 0 1 .279 Hale lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .173 Patek ss 1 1 1 1 3 0 .251 Milbourne 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .236 Wilson lf 4 1 1 1 0 2 .220 Honeycutt p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Leonard p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Parrott p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 32 2 6 2 2 4 Totals 30 7 9 6 4 5 Time of Game: 2:26 Attendance: 21,890 Left on Base: Mariners 6, Royals 5 DP: Mariners 1, Royals 0 Errors: Ruppert Jones, Stinson Doubles: Ruppert Jones (24), Stinson (14), Patek (22) Triples: Wathan (1) Stolen Bases: Cruz 2 (57), Patek (37), Wilson (44), McRae (17) Caught Stealing: Patek (11) Sacrifice Hits: Wathan (3) Sacrifice Flies: Bochte (6), White (2) Mariners IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Honeycutt L(5-11) 3.2 7 5 5 1 0 0 19 4.89 Parrott 4.1 2 2 1 3 5 0 17 4.80 Totals 8 9 7 6 4 5 0 36 Royals IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Leonard W(20-17) 9 6 2 2 2 4 0 35 3.39 Totals 9 6 2 2 2 4 0 35 Wild Pitches: Parrott (1) Umpires: HP - Bill Deegan, 1B - Bill Kunkel, 2B - Al Clark, 3B - Terry Cooney MARINERS 1ST: Cruz singled to left; Reynolds popped to first; Cruz stole second; Ruppert Jones flied out to center; Roberts struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Mariners 0, Royals 0. ROYALS 1ST: Brett singled to center; McRae flied out to center; Otis flied out to right; Cowens singled to left [Brett to third]; Wathan tripled to left [Brett scored, Cowens scored]; Porter grounded out (second to first); 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Mariners 0, Royals 2. MARINERS 2ND: Bochte grounded out (first to pitcher); Paciorek struck out; Stinson walked; Hale popped to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Mariners 0, Royals 2. ROYALS 2ND: White grounded out (shortstop to first); Patek walked; Wilson popped to catcher in foul territory; Patek stole second; Brett flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Mariners 0, Royals 2. MARINERS 3RD: Milbourne flied out to left; Cruz was called out on strikes; Reynolds grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mariners 0, Royals 2. ROYALS 3RD: McRae grounded out (shortstop to first); Otis singled to center; Cowens lined to center; Wathan forced Otis (shortstop to second); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Mariners 0, Royals 2. MARINERS 4TH: Ruppert Jones doubled to right; Roberts grounded out (pitcher to first) [Ruppert Jones to third]; Bochte hit a sacrifice fly to right [Ruppert Jones scored]; Paciorek was called out on strikes; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mariners 1, Royals 2. ROYALS 4TH: Porter grounded out (first unassisted); White singled to left; Patek doubled to left [White scored]; Wilson singled to right [Patek scored]; Wilson stole second; Brett flied out to right [Wilson to third]; PARROTT REPLACED HONEYCUTT (PITCHING); McRae singled to center [Wilson scored]; McRae stole second [McRae scored (error by Stinson) (error by Ruppert Jones) (unearned)]; Otis flied out to left; 4 R (3 ER), 4 H, 2 E, 0 LOB. Mariners 1, Royals 6. MARINERS 5TH: Stinson flied out to center; Hale grounded out (second to first); Milbourne lined to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mariners 1, Royals 6. ROYALS 5TH: Cowens grounded out (first to pitcher); Wathan grounded out (first unassisted); Porter was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mariners 1, Royals 6. MARINERS 6TH: Cruz flied to left in foul territory; Reynolds singled to right; Ruppert Jones singled to right [Reynolds to second]; Roberts flied out to center; Bochte flied out to center; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Mariners 1, Royals 6. ROYALS 6TH: White struck out; Patek walked; Wilson struck out while Patek was caught stealing second (catcher to second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mariners 1, Royals 6. MARINERS 7TH: Paciorek popped to shortstop; Stinson grounded out (second to first); Hale flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mariners 1, Royals 6. ROYALS 7TH: Brett grounded out (shortstop to first); McRae popped to second; Otis struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mariners 1, Royals 6. MARINERS 8TH: Milbourne flied out to left; Cruz walked; Cruz stole second; Reynolds grounded out (second to first) [Cruz to third]; Ruppert Jones singled to center [Cruz scored]; Roberts forced Ruppert Jones (shortstop unassisted); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Mariners 2, Royals 6. ROYALS 8TH: Cowens singled to center; Wathan out on a sacrifice bunt (catcher to first) [Cowens to second]; Porter was walked intentionally; Parrott threw a wild pitch [Cowens to third, Porter to second]; White hit a sacrifice fly to right [Cowens scored, Porter to third]; Patek walked; Wilson struck out; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Mariners 2, Royals 7. MARINERS 9TH: Bochte grounded out (first unassisted); Paciorek flied out to left; Stinson doubled to right; Hale flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Mariners 2, Royals 7.

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